1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to distributing media content, and in particular, to a method, apparatus, and article of manufacture for protecting large video and data files during transport over satellite, terrestrial, and magnetic media for use in a digital cinema system.
2. Description of the Related Art
The methods by which movies and other media programs that are distributed to theaters for display to audiences have not substantially changed in over 75 years. Celluloid copies of such movies are distributed to each theater in advance of the first showing, and the same copy is repeatedly displayed for audiences until the movie is excessively worn, the license expires, or the theater stops showing the movie in favor of a more popular movie.
There are several problems with this process. First, the process of manually and securely distributing physical celluloid copies of each movie is costly. Second, it is time consuming. This is especially important in circumstances where last minute changes must be made to the film before release. Such time concerns often prohibit that any such changes be made.
There is therefore a need for a method and system for distributing media programs in a rapid and inexpensive manner. As will be described further herein, the present invention solves that need by providing for the distribution of digital copies of media programs via a satellite or other high bandwidth medium. For example, digital cinema systems provide the ability for distributing digital copies of motion picture “films” electronically directly to theatres running exhibitor systems.
However, the use of digital cinema systems presents additional challenges. For example, the owners of the media content must ensure that the content is secure at all stages of the distribution and exhibition process. Traditional security methods of file distribution include the transmission and/or delivery of encryption/decryption keys over networks or satellites. The current key distribution and management functionality has many complicated mechanisms to mitigate the risks of unauthorized access to valuable content. In this regard, content owners have to rely on expensive and complicated digital certificates and public key infrastructure (PKI) architectures to authenticate users and protect keys being distributed over the networks. Further, PKI and digital certificate architectures have been compromised in the past and have some known vulnerabilities. For example, keys can be copied at the weak points in the distribution, thus compromising the confidentiality of the applicable content. Once a key falls in the wrong hands, the potential losses can be insurmountable.
In view of the above, what is needed is the capability to protect digital media content without the complicated key distribution and management problems of the prior art.